A voter's guide for people who believe that walking and bicycling should be safe.

District 7

November 4, 2014 General Election

These five questions have been sent to San Jose City Council District 3 candidates Maya Esparza and Tam Nguyen to help our members determine which to endorse in the Nov 4 election. Neither candidate has qualified to be considered for our endorsement by answering the questions:

1. If elected, what will you do to help San Jose achieve its Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan goal to reduce total vehicle miles traveled in the city by 40% by 2040?

2. If elected, how will you ensure the completion of central San Jose’s off-street trail network so that the Guadalupe River Trail, Los Gatos Creek Trail, Three Creeks Trail, and Coyote Creek Trail are all continuous and connect with each other?

3. Do you support implementing future Bus Rapid Transit lines with dedicated bus lanes that require the removal of general travel lanes or vehicle parking lanes? Why or why not?

4. Do you support the inclusion of the Alum Rock station, a BART station in the vicinity of Santa Clara Street / Alum Rock Avenue and Highway 101, in the extension of BART service from Fremont to downtown San Jose? Why or why not?

5. Do you support an ordinance banning cycling on sidewalks in downtown San Jose? Why or why not?

June 3, 2014 Primary Election

Buu Thai won our endorsement in the June 3 primary election for San Jose City Council District 7. Two of the four candidates qualified to be considered for our endorsement by answering our seven questions (below).

Maya Esparza and Tam Nguyen were the top-two vote receivers in the June 3 election. The winner of the November 4 run-off election between them will serve a four-year term representing District 7 on the San Jose City Council.

1. Do you walk regularly? Where do you walk?

Van Le: Yes. I walk every day and with my election campaign, I am walking miles day.

2. Do you ride a bicycle regularly? Where do you bike?

Buu Thai: I do not bike as often as I would like. I had opportunities to bike around downtown San Jose and sometime on the Coyote Creek trail to Morgan Hill.
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Van Le: I love biking also but at this moment I don’t have time to bike. I usually ride my bike in the lake or in the campground.

3. If elected, what would you do to reduce the number of fatalities (28 in 2013) and serious injuries suffered by people walking and bicycling in San Jose?

Buu Thai: If elected, I am committed to reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries by people walking and bicycling in San Jose. My pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and serious injuries reduction strategies include: Driver education and licensing: Address pedestrian and bicycle safety in driver education and licensing training and materials; Add pedestrian and bicycle safety components into the Road Safety Audits; Increase pedestrian and bicycle safety education in local schools; Implement pedestrian and bicycle safety elements with new transportation projects.

Van Le: I love the idea proposed by Councilmember Liccardo and the work in the downtown area to create separate bike lines.

4. Do you support Vision Zero legislation (similar to that adopted this year by New York and San Francisco) to establish a goal for San Jose to eliminate pedestrian and bicyclist traffic-related fatalities by 2025?

Buu Thai: Yes.

Van Le: Yes.

5. How can San Jose generate the funds to construct truly Complete Streets that are safe and accessible for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit users of all ages and abilities?

Buu Thai: I would start by evaluating existing transportation projects and determine ways we can leverage these projects to implement Complete Streets. For future projects, I ensure include Complete Streets as a requirement for any road/transportation projects.

Van Le: You begin a conversation with those entities that would benefit from reduced fatalities or increased walking or bicycling. First and foremost would be residence of the city, public entities such as the SJPD, Santa Clara County Sheriff, Bike shops, sporting goods shops, etc. I would also engage local hospitals and healthcare for the benefits of more physical activity.

6. Do you support investing in extension of San Jose’s many disconnected walking bicycling trails to connect them with each other to form a practical network of trails?

Buu Thai: Yes.

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Van Le: Yes.

7. Do you believe that converting general travel lanes into buffered bike lanes (like on 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, and Hedding streets) is an effective way to reduce vehicle speeds and collisions, and do you support converting more travel lanes into buffered bike lanes?

Buu Thai: I do believe that having buffered bike lanes is an effective way to reduce vehicle speeds and collision. However, I want to be strategic where these buffered bike lanes are implemented throughout San Jose. In San Jose District 7, we have heavy traffic and narrow lanes in various pockets of the District. Converting more travel lanes into buffered bike lanes may have a negative impact to the traffic flow.